The same can be said for field checking regulator, capacitor and other controls on the line or in the station. Routine annual test. Routine voltage complaint. Routine, routine, routine. Routine can KILL YOU!

Do you check for intact grounds before touching the apparatus or the control cabinet? Ground wire seems to still “go missing” everywhere, and this we will have to put up with until; A: Copper prices drop, or; B: We prosecute scrap dealers for “knowingly receiving”, or; C: We put armed guards on every pole and substation! Ground wires also sometimes get clipped by traffic accidents, connectors corrode, etc. – and many utilities have lengthened their pole inspection cycles resulting in more potentially bad grounds at any given time.

A high-resistance fault or leakage inside the apparatus or bushing leakage both have the potential for placing line voltage on the apparatus case. The resistance may be too high to cause protective devices to open the circuit. As long as the ground is intact, the case and control panel are still “dead front”, if the ground is not intact…

Always, always, ALWAYS check the integrity of your grounding before touching or doing anything to the control. If you find grounding or inadequate, follow your utility’s procedures for correction prior to performing any control work or testing!

Work safe out there!

Take a minute for safety! is a post from: Shewmaker Electronics

When you go out into the field to troubleshoot a voltage complaint, working with the older types (with knobs!) is pretty much the same no matter the age or the brand. The main question is: is it the control, or the regulator that has the problem?

However, with the newer microprocessor types, there are a lot of “gotcha’s!” Is there reverse power capability, do I keep getting tap position warnings? Are the programmed CT/PT ratios in my replacement control the same as what I am taking out of service?

These “gotcha’s” will often cause a return trip to a regulator if the field technician is not aware of them. Sometimes, these issues cause a good control to be sent in for repair when actually it was only a configuration issue that caused the regulator to mis-operate.

Every August, the Great Lakes Electric Meter School conducts a session on “Field Testing of Regulator and Re-Closer Controls” In this 4-day session, we look into those issues and provide training that will improve your troubleshooting efficiency in the field

I invite you to consider attending this year. For more information, please visit www.GLEMS.org.

Field Testing of Regulator and Re-Closer Controls is a post from: Shewmaker Electronics